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A desperate man with a deaf and mute son once told Jesus, "...if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us” (Mark 9:22b). He provided additional details of the son's condition indicating that the boy would sometimes have convulsions, go rigid, and foam at the mouth.
In reply, Christ parroted part of the request back to the man, saying, “‘If you can’?” One can only imagine that He was stunned by the suggestion that the power of God would not bring forth a breakthrough. He could have left the boy to his fate, after all, we are told He couldn't perform many miracles in His own hometown due to the level of disbelief there (Matthew 13:58).
Instead, He continued to engage the man, saying, “Everything is possible for one who believes” (Mark 9:23). What happened next suggests the man understood the key to his son's healing. Mark 9:24 - Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”
We learned on Tuesday that God is compassionate and examined this great blessing that He pours out on mankind. We saw that Jesus exemplified the compassionate nature of God while He walked the earth.
His interaction with this man and his sick son was no different. He was not going to watch the boy suffer from diseases brought on by evil spirits without doing something. However, he required a condition and it was that the boy's father needed to have faith that healing was possible.
We are no different from that man. We also want God's compassion but have been conditioned by tough experiences to see this as a rare commodity. Sadly, we have witnessed compassion withheld from those who truly need it and expect to be treated the same way.
Yet, we serve a God who deeply desires to be compassionate toward us (Isaiah 30:18). Indeed, we are told in Matthew 5:45 that He allows both the evil and the good to experience the blessing of His sun and rain. Thus, if He can manage to show such kindness to the wicked, what more to those who are righteous?
Still, He wants His children - those who believe in Him and are led by His Spirit - to have faith that He will show them compassion. He wants them to believe that their miracle is on the way. This is because when a person's faith combines with God's loving compassion, the only result is a miraculous one.
The man with the sick son wisely declared his belief and even acknowledged he'd been wrong to disbelieve in the first place. He asked Christ to heal him of his lack of faith. Thanks be to God for such submission and insight because the boy was freed from the evil spirits that had kept him bound by disease.
God continues to work out such things to this day. His miraculous power and compassion haven't waned. Will you appeal to His compassion in faith, though? He wants you to and the reward will be well worth it when you do.
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